Monday, August 22, 2005

Should Ireland rejoin the Commonwealth?

I have added a new poll to United Irelander which asks the question:

"Should Ireland rejoin the Commonwealth"?

Ireland remains the only country to have left the Commonwealth and to have not gone back. In leaving the Commonwealth, the British introduced the Ireland Act which effectively destroyed the last link between the North and South.

In recent years, the prospect of Ireland rejoining has been raised. There are several republics in the Commonwealth at present. In fact, one of the first things Mandela did when he became President of South Africa was to set about rejoining the Commonwealth. In Ireland, Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs, as well as grandson of Eamon de Valera, has been vocal in his support for Ireland rejoining. Bertie Ahern too at one point seemed willing to let the issue be debated but for now the issue seems to have fallen off the radar screen.

So, should we rejoin? What do you think?

Please take the time to vote in the poll along the sidebar and I would appreciate it if you would also use the comments box of this post to explain what way you voted and why.

Personally I voted 'Yes' to rejoining as I feel the decision to leave the Commonwealth was a disaster. In rejoining, Ireland would go some way to improving Anglo-Irish relations as well as North-South relations. Rejoining would be yet another step forward in acknowledging to the orange tradition of this island that we do not harbour any ill will towards Britishness and that we have moved on from the archaic narrow-minded xenophobia of the past. Furthermore, rejoining could open up the possibility of renewing all-Ireland relations within the Commonwealth. For example, all-Ireland teams in the Commonwealth games.

Ultimately I feel it should happen. It's time to rejoin. Let's show how comfortable we are in our own identity.